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We held off as long as we could could. We really did. Here’s the thing about ‘tweens though. They can just wear you down. So, after much begging, much pleading, and many promises from our 11-year old, the husband and I finally relented. We now have a texting ‘tween. With limits.

She’s been using one of our old iPhones for awhile, but it’s basically an iPod touch. There’s no phone number or data attached to it, just wifi. The husband did some research and decided to install the Pinger app, which only works with wifi. It’s baby steps, but still feels like a ginormous leap into the great ‘tween technology unknown.

Could we have waited? Of course. Should we have waited? We’ll see.

The husband and I did make ourselves feel a little bit better about our decision by crafting a texting contract and making Olivia sign it.

It’s now got prime real estate on the refrigerator next to the class photos and works of art.

Below, you’ll see the rules in black and white.

We wrote it knowing full well she’ll break the rules and her fingers will twitch from texting withdrawals. It didn’t take long. Two days to be exact. This time, it was a small infraction, and it’s now in my possession for 24 hours.

Wish us luck with our first foray into ‘tween texting. We’re going to need it.